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Published on January 16, 2008

The TCT believes arrivals will be close to the 15-million figure projected by the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT).

Meanwhile, both the TCT and the TAT estimate tourism revenue will grow 10 per cent this year to about Bt500 billion.

TCT president Kongkrit Hiranyakit said the council would discuss with the next government how to build up tourist confidence, particularly in the face of threat factors.

For instance, The Economist recently reported Thailand was an unsafe country akin to Pakistan. The council wants the government to address this problem.

However, Kongkrit said the Kingdom still attracted international tourists at a time when rivals like Vietnam and Singapore have been concentrating more heavily on the tourism sector.

The council plans to encourage tourism by promoting alternative choices of transportation via land and water.

TCT adviser Opas Netraumpai said these alternatives would allow tourists to visit Thailand at a lower cost compared with air transport, which is now affected by oil-price hikes.

Meanwhile, the council will approach tourists from short- and medium-haul destinations like China, the Middle East, South Korea, Japan and India.

The council said it would work with the Office of Small and Medium Enterprises Promotion to train people working in the tourism industry to improve their standards and quality of service.

Moreover, the organisation called on the government to rebuild 700 damaged attractions, in order to reclaim tourists.

Opas suggested the government reopen the Royal Flower Expo in Chiang Mai to boost domestic tourism in the North and promote tourism in the Northeast through meetings and conferences.

Suchat Sritama

The Nation